Leonid Meteor Shower 2026: How to Watch Under a First-Quarter Moon

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The Leonids have a reputation that no other meteor shower can match. In 1833 the sky over North America reportedly rained fire at rates of around 100,000 meteors an hour, and that night helped launch the scientific study of meteors. So when November rolls around, it is tempting to get your hopes up. Let’s set expectations honestly: 2026 is not a storm year. But it is a perfectly good year to spend a cold night outside with a reclining chair and a thermos, as long as you plan around the Moon.

When the Leonids peak in 2026

The shower is active for several weeks in November, and the peak is forecast for the night of November 17 into the morning of November 18. EarthSky lists the predicted maximum at 0 UTC on November 18, while Star Walk gives 23:45 GMT on November 17; the two sit within minutes of each other, and a broad peak means the exact minute matters far less than the hours you can actually stay out. For observers in the Americas, that puts the best window in the late evening and overnight hours of November 17 and the pre-dawn hours of the 18th.

Under a dark sky with no Moon, the Leonids typically deliver around 10 to 15 meteors per hour. That is modest compared with the Perseids or Geminids. What the Leonids lack in numbers they make up for in speed: these meteors hit the atmosphere at roughly 71 km/s, among the fastest of any annual shower, and they are known for leaving bright streaks and the occasional fireball.

The Moon problem (and why it is not a disaster)

First-quarter Moon occurs on November 17, which means a half-lit Moon will be in the sky through the evening. Its glare washes out the fainter meteors, so expect your counts to be lower than the dark-sky numbers above. The good news is that a first-quarter Moon sets around 11 p.m. local time, which leaves the second half of the night properly dark. That is also when Leo rises and the shower really picks up, so the timing works in your favor.

If you have never thought much about how lunar phase controls what you can see, our guide to moon phases and best viewing times explains why a few days either side of the Moon’s half-lit phases change your night so dramatically.

Where to look

The Leonids appear to radiate from the constellation Leo, specifically from the backward question mark of stars known as the Sickle. Leo rises around midnight and climbs through the early hours, so the radiant is highest just before dawn. Here is the part beginners often get wrong: you do not need to find the radiant. Meteors streak across every part of the sky, and the best strategy is to face a wide, dark patch roughly 40 to 60 degrees up from the horizon and take in as much sky as you can.

A useful trick: meteors that trace back to the radiant look short because they are heading nearly toward you, while the ones that cross farther from it are longer and more dramatic. If a bright Leonid skims across the whole sky, it is probably a long trail from well off the radiant.

What gear actually helps (and what does not)

This is one of the few astronomy events where a telescope is the wrong tool. Meteors are fast and unpredictable, and a telescope’s narrow field of view would make you miss nearly all of them. Your eyes are the best instrument here. What helps is comfort:

• A reclining chair or a pad and sleeping bag. Looking up for an hour with your neck bent is miserable; lying back makes it easy.
• Warm layers. Mid-November nights are cold and you will be sitting still. Our guide to cold-weather stargazing covers layering and keeping a hot drink hot.
• A red flashlight. It protects your dark adaptation, which takes about 20 to 30 minutes to build and seconds to destroy.
• A dark site. Light pollution matters more than any piece of equipment. If you are not sure how dark your backyard is, see our explainer on the Bortle scale and dark-sky maps.

If you are photographing the shower, the principles from our guide to photographing a meteor shower apply directly: wide lens, wide aperture, high ISO, and a long run of continuous exposures on a tripod. You are playing the odds, so the more frames you capture, the better your chance of catching a bright one.

Why the Leonids can storm, and why this year will not

The Leonids come from debris shed by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which circles the Sun about every 33 years. Each time the comet swings through the inner solar system it leaves fresh trails of dust. When Earth happens to cross a young, dense trail, the result can be a storm: in 1966, observers in North America and Hawaii saw 40 to 50 meteors per second for about 15 minutes. The comet returns in early 2031, and forecasters have pointed to November 17, 2033 as the next date with storm-level potential, with up to roughly 400 meteors an hour predicted. For 2026, no significant outburst is expected, so think of this year as a quiet, pleasant Leonid season rather than a historic one. For deeper background on the science, see EarthSky’s Leonid meteor shower guide.

A simple game plan for the night

Check the forecast a day ahead; clouds are a bigger threat than the Moon. Arrive at your spot before the Moon sets so your eyes can adapt, then settle in. Do not stare at one point. Let your gaze relax and your peripheral vision, which is more sensitive to faint motion, do the work. Count in blocks of 15 minutes if you like keeping score, and expect streaks to arrive in clumps with quiet stretches in between. If you are new to all this, our stargazing hub gathers the basics on dark skies, timing and naked-eye targets in one place.

And if November clouds you out, you still have a second chance this season: the Geminids in mid-December are usually the stronger show of the year, so keep your lawn chair handy.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a telescope or binoculars to watch the Leonids?

No, and they will actually hurt your results. Meteors cover huge areas of sky, so naked-eye viewing from a comfortable reclined position is the right approach. Save the optics for the Moon and planets.

Is the Leonid meteor shower going to be a storm in 2026?

No. Forecasters do not expect a storm or significant outburst this year. Plan on roughly 10 to 15 meteors per hour in ideal dark conditions, with somewhat fewer visible because of the first-quarter Moon.

What is the best time to watch on the night of the peak?

After the Moon sets, which is around 11 p.m. local time for the first-quarter phase, and continuing until dawn. Leo is highest before sunrise, so the last couple of hours of darkness are often the most rewarding.

Want to build up your observing kit for the winter season? Browse our accessories guide for practical, no-nonsense gear picks.